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POST OSCAR WRAP UP--JASON REITMAN HAS BEEN SERVEDMar 08 '10 (Updated Mar 09 '10) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line The Hurt Locker rang up Oscar gold even if it didn't exactly ring up box office gold at last night's unexpectedly boring ceremony. "Did I really earn this, or did I just wear you down?" quipped Sandra Bullock upon receiving her Best Actress Oscar for The Blind Side last night. For anyone who had seen all five best actress performances, the answer to that first bit is an emphatic no, and the second is a blase perhaps. In any case, this was the one Academy victory where perhaps huge box office was a welcome factor. In all fairness to Bullock, her by turns funny (Dedicating her trophy to her "lover Meryl Streep") and stunningly heartfelt (Emotionally acknowledging her mother) speech was one of the few highlights in an otherwise spectacularly dull Oscar evening, which mercifully brought the overstuffed film awards season to an anticlimactic finish. While predictability played a large part in the ho hum proceedings, dubious entertainment numbers (The opening song and dance number starring a game Neil Patrick Harris) that were the opposite of razzle dazzle, as well as just head scratching presentation and award choices threatened to undo the ultra glam atmosphere. Having two presenters didn't really help either, although Steve Martin was a dry as a martini delight. Co host Alec Baldwin had some moments, but for the most part the playful chiding between the two grew rapidly superfluous. The evening proved huge for The Hurt Locker, which scored top honors for Picture and Director (A deserving Kathryn Bigelow). Bigelow's status as the first female to win a directing prize was not lost at all on presenter Barbra Streisand, even if the film's status as the lowest grossing Best Picture winner of all time went unspoken. In addition, the war thriller picked up nods in the Original Screenplay (Mark Boal) and Editing categories. Audiences got an early preview that this would be The Hurt Locker's night when the film inexplicably swept the Sound categories over James Cameron's Avatar, which went home with just three Oscars (Cinematography, Art Direction and Visual Effects). To put in perspective, even the arguably better war thriller Black Hawk Down didn't sweep the sound categories, splitting in 2001 with another fantasy juggernaut Lord of the Rings. Which is a surprise, since traditionally the Oscars like to spread the wealth. I guess the king of the world has already sucked all the wealth out of Hollywood. Aside from the aforementioned Bullock, the other acting victors were all but preordained. Jeff Bridges picked up lead acting honors for Crazy Heart. For people imagining what Jeff Spicoli would be like as a middle aged man, they need only have listened to Bridges' acceptance speech. The Dude abides, maaaaaaaan. In the supporting categories, Christoph Waltz deservedly won for his Nazi turn in Inglourious Basterds; ditto Mo'Nique for her savage turn in Precious. One of the more puzzling aspects of the evening was the love shown to the lead actors and not the supporting ones--all ten lead nominees were feted at the beginning of the show, each brought out on stage. During the actual presentations, five actors were brought out to personally celebrate each lead actor's performance, while the second class supporting actors received the traditional clips and announced winners. The question was begged, why the difference? They're not more important by any means. If the Kodak had suddenly gone up in flames, the lead actors probably would have been escorted out first, followed by Ben Stiller, and then the supporting actors. The biggest surprise of the evening most likely was in the adapted screenplay category. Deserved Writer's Guild winners Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner's superlative work for Up in the Air was upset in favor of Precious scribe Geoffrey Fletcher. Fletcher was just as shocked as perhaps most viewers were. The snub meant that not only would the amateurish Up in the Air go home empty handed--another Oscar surprise--but that perhaps both this year's screenplay winners were met with a befuddled "Huh?" by viewers. Elsewhere, for the second year in a row the geniuses who get to vote for Foreign Film completely shafted the presumed frontrunners--and by that I mean nominees that may be in limited release and got a lot of critical love. The White Ribbon and A Prophet were ignored in favor of The Secret of Their Eyes from Argentina, which most people probably never heard of. To add insult to injury, the Academy actually had the nerve to ask Pedro Almodovar--whose excellent film Broken Embraces was shat on by the same Academy--to present. Luckily Almodovar is a little more gracious than some of the gumps that make up the AMPAS. Speaking of graciousness, which was for the most part an element largely missing from the ceremony (Particularly from Baldwin and Martin), Sandy Powell's Costume Design award for The Young Victoria provided another memorable moment. In accepting, multiple winner Powell dedicated her award--for her work in a period drama--to costume designers for indie and modern day films which traditionally don't get award recognition. Speaking of graciousness, how many awards speeches were unceremoniously cut off during the evening (I for one wanted to hear what the Live Action Short victors for The New Tenants had to say)? I only mention this because the Academy gave about five minutes to Ben Stiller's Avatar shtick while presenting Make Up (Which went to Star Trek). While Stiller was very funny, particularly when he indulged in faux Navi speak, letting him go on and on in favor of actual winners was indicative of the low class nature of the evening. To wit, they even devoted more time to Stiller than the Lifetime Achievement Awards, mentioned in passing in a totally perfunctory salute, which was one of the more shameful aspects of the evening. Especially when you factor in the completely superfluous tribute to horror films. Speaking of graciousness, why the personal salute to the deceased John Hughes when they went ahead and did the traditional In Memorium tribute anyways? I loved Hughes' 80s canon as much as the next person, but why the special treatment? Also, who was that old hag who won for Documentary Short victor Music for Prudence? Pixar's Up went home with two Oscars, its expected win in Animated Film and for its song score, although the latter was made painful by a godawful dance routine choreographed to a montage of the Score nominees. This also drew a question, as traditional performances of the Song nominees was scuttled altogether. No slight on winner The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart, but maybe the main reason was the songs just sucked. The win likewise cemented that Crazy Heart won 2 Oscars, two more than Up in the Air and 1 more than Inglourious Basterds. All in all the ceremony proved WEARY as well, which is a shame because there were some memorable films in this year's lineup. They should seriously reconsider bringing back Hugh Jackman, or the hosts of the more entertaining BAFTA awards--people who actually seem to care about the films nominated, and who can shine a light on an unceremoniously dull pomp and film circumstance.  |
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